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Bangladesh opposition party holds 'river water' march

Ferdous Ahmad Bhuiyan Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Main opposition BNP claims the country is not getting its 'due share' of water from neighboring India, with which it shares dozens of rivers.

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Bangladesh’s main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Tuesday started a two-day march from capital Dhaka, demanding a ‘due share’ of water from the Teesta River, which is common between Bangladesh and India.

The BNP called the march in protest of the 'unilateral withdrawal' of waters by the Indian government.

BNP Spokesman Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the current Bangladeshi government had failed to make headway with New Delhi despite repeated calls from different sections of the Bangladeshi society.

He said this while speaking at a wayside rally at Kalikoir, about 50 km from Dhaka. His BNP caravan reached there after it was flagged off on Tuesday morning from the capital.

- 'Violation'

Fakhrul said on Tuesday India had built a barrage in the upstream of the Teesta River to divert the main water flow.

He alleged that India’s unilateral use of the river’s waters was causing deprivation to Bangladeshi people and was a violation of international river laws.

The march will end at Dalia in the district of Nilphamari - near the bank of the Teesta River - with a huge public rally on Wednesday, April 23. A similar rally was held last week by two left-leaning Bangladeshi parties.

In Bangladesh, there are 57 international rivers flowing through the country, 54 of which are common with India. River waters have proved a decades-long issue between the countries. Failing to get water from common rivers has long affected Bangladeshi communities.